Since 2019, the Center for Leadership Excellence, in partnership with COSROW, has been lifting up the voices of lay and clergywomen in ministry through Encouragements—monthly emails designed to inspire, encourage, and offer practical ways for women in ministry to support one another. This month, we’re honored to share words from Tobi Nguyen, pastor of Trinity UMC in Durham and chair of the NC Conference Committee on the Status and Role of Women (COSROW).

Anyone can sign up to receive Encouragements—and the full archive of past emails is available for you to explore. Please share this link with lay and clergywomen in ministry who might be interested.

Feed, wait, mix, wait, knead, wait, shape, wait, bake, wait.

This was my routine for the last couple of months on Tuesdays, my sermon-writing days. During the season of Lent, my fourteen-year-old daughter and I committed to a weekly sourdough class. It was led by Kendall Vanderslice, who was a baker in Boston when she heard the call to seminary. At Duke Divinity, she studied the intersection between bread and theology.

On Ash Wednesday, we mixed our sourdough starter by hand, sensing the flour and repeating the words, “from dust you have come and to dust you shall return.” One week we focused on water and remembered our Baptism. The focus on rest was most meaningful to me during a busy season in ministry. So much of making sourdough bread requires the wild yeasts and bacteria, naturally present in the flour and water, to create the microbial community that leavens and flavors the bread. And this takes time.

My favorite breath prayer is, “be still and know that I am God.” What a powerful lesson for me to continue to learn: Be still and wait. Wait for the starter to double. Wait for the dough to rise. Wait for the fermentation. Wait for the loaf to proof. Wait for the bread to cool.

Read Psalm 27:14 (NRSVue):
Wait for the Lord;
  be strong, and let your heart take courage;
  wait for the Lord!

Be still and listen. Wait for God to speak. Wait for the Holy Spirit to blow. Rest in the confidence of God’s love.

My prayer for you this Easter season is that you create space to rest and wait on the Lord. “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today” (Exodus 14:13, KJV). You can find Kendall’s books and workshops here: https://edibletheology.com/

In partnership,
Center for Leadership Excellence and the Commission on the Status and Role of Women